Furring construction for steel ceilings



L. J. GRAFF.

FURRING CONSTRUCTION FOR STEEL CEILINGS.

APPLICATION man JUNE 30, 1919.

"M33450? Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- L. J. GRAFF.

FURRING CONSTRUCTION FOR STEEL CEILINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30. I919.

1 841,607, Patented Mar. 23,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 l INVENTOFI I W W,

STATES PATENT onnion.

LOUIS J. GRAFF, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

FURBING CONSTRUCTION FOB STEEL CEILINGS.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, LoUIsJ. GRAFF, a citizen of the United States, and residing in the city of Pittsbur h, in the county of Allegheny andState 0 Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Fun'in Constructions for Steel Ceilings, of whic the following is a specification.

My invention consists in new and useful improvements in metal furring strips for steel ceilings.

In the steel ceiling art, as now practised, wooden furring strips are used and in case of fire they readily char or burn, mining the ceiling and often causing the ignition of the wooden joist or other inflammable ortions of the building. Metal furring strips have been designed but they have simply served as conductors. of heat'to inflammable portions of the building and have been so generally unsatisfactory that they have failed to appear commercially in the art.

The object which I have in'view is the provision of metal furring strips which may be conveniently installed, which will properly support the ceiling and which will protect the inflammable ortions of the building.

' With these en s in view, I have produced a furring strip formed by bending up a stri of metal in box form, having top latera flanges by means of which it may be attached to the building and having a depending portion with lateral flanges upon which the flanged edges of the ceiling plates rest and which are then clenched against saidedges.

l also show a new and improved side furring strip formed on the same principle. I also show a new and improved form of'cross iurring strips which are assembled with my iurring strips to support the ceiling. I also show novel means for attaching my furring strips to the underside of fire such as of concrete or tile.

Other novel features of construction and arrangement of parts will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which are however merely intended to illustrate the principles of my invention without limiting the scope of the same to the construction shown, Figure 1 is an inverted plan view showing a portion of a steel ceilingsupported by my improved fur-ring strips; Fig. 2 is a View in vertical section showing ceiling of securing wall. F represents proof floors,

Specification of Letters Patent. P t t a 23, 1920 Application filed. June 30, 1919. Serial No. 807,514.

porting two ceilin p ates to et er with a pair of cross furring strips, t e flanges bemg unclenched; Fig. 4 1s :a similar view showing theflanges clenched; Fig. 5 is a vertical section ta in Figs. 3- and 4 showing a cross furrin strip supportin two ceiling plates with its flanges unclenc ed and Fig. 6 is a similar view showing said flanges clenched; Fig. 7 1s a broken perspective of one of the cross furrmg stri s; Fig. 8 is a similar view of one of the rringstrips; Fig. 9 is an end view of one of the side furring strips; Fig. 10 1s a vertical section showing the method my furring strips to the underside of a concrete floor; Fig. 11 is a vertical sect 1on taken at right angles to Fig. 10; Fig. 12 1s a broken inverted perspective of the clamping member by means of which I secured my furring strips to the under side of a concrete floor, and Fig. 13 is a vertical sect1on SllOWlIlg my furring strips secured to the underside of a hollow tile floor.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings, reference being first had to Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive. 7

A represents the main furring strip, B the cross furring strips and C the side furring strips, D represents the steel ceiling plates and E' the curved side plates which are used to cover the angle between the ceiling and the wooden joists and G The main furring stri s A are formed by bendin up a strip of s set metal into the form s own, and comprise the box body 1 having two lateral top nailing flanges 2, de pending vertical web 3 and lateral ceiling plate supporting flanges 4 which are preferably slightly turned upwardly, as shown. The furring strips are nailed through the flanges 2 to the joist F at the roper intervals to receive the ends oft e plates D which are provided along their four sides with downturned edge flanges 5. The plates D are usually of square form and about two feet either way; The corners of the plates are-preferably clipped, as at 6 in Fig. 1, so that the flanges 5 do not extend clear to the ends, thus providing clearance in assembling. The size of the plates of course deterthe wall.

mine the intervals between the main furring strips A. The flanges 4 of the furrin strips en at right angles to that A are clenched up against the end flanges 5 of the ceiling plates D. Between adjacent ceiling plates I interpose one of my cross furring strips B also formed by bending up a strip of sheet metal and comprising a vertical top web 7, a pair of oppositely disposed lateral fins' 8, a lower vertical web 9 and a pair of bottom lateral clenching flanges 10 which are preferably upwardly "turned, as shown. The fins 8 rest upon the in Fig; 2. The side furl-ing strips C are bent up from a strip of sheet metal and ,com-

. as shown against the and the building prise a vertical top nailing flange '12 by means of which the strip is secured to the wall, a-box body "13, and an outwardly extending bottom flange 14 of L-shapeupon which rests the bottom flange 11 of the plates E. The flanges 14 are then clenched,

flanges 11.

It is evident from the above that the ceiling can be quickly and easily installed in a building by using my furring members and this installation is facilitated by the fact that the main furring strips may be sprung laterally to slip in the end plates which cannot be conveniently slid into place. The completed ceiling is held securely in place but in such a manner than an ample air space is provided between the ceiling plates elements to which they are attached, the main and Wall furring strips aiding in the heat insulation because of, their box form. Therefore the ceiling plates may reach a very high temperature without damaging the wooden joist or other inflammable portions of the building and no substantial damage to, the ceiling will result because the edges of the plates cannot be torn loose from the furring and therefore the plates cannot buckle but can only be destroyed by a melting heat.

I have described above the attachment of the furring elements to wooden joists, but it is frequently necessary to attach a steel ceiling to the under surface of a fireproof floor, such as one of concrete or hollow tile.

This is easily done by securing the clamping member H to the floor. This member is of metal and preferably in the form of a channel bar which is secured, as in Figs. 10 and 11 to concrete floor I by means of depending expansion bolts 15. The bottom of the-channel is provided with pairs of struck down ears 16 between which the furring strip A is placed and such ears are then struckup or clenched against the top flanges 2 of the strips A, as shown in Fig. 11. In Fig. 13, I show the clamping ba s attached to the underside of a hollow tile floor J by means of toggle bolts 17.

What I desire to claim is:

1. A furring strip for the support of ceiling plates which consists of a box body having a flat top surface adapted to fit against a support, lateral flanges at either side of said top surface by means of which the strip may be secured to the support, and lateral flanges at the bottom of said box body upon which the edges of the ceiling plates rest.

2. A furring strip, for the support of ceiling plates provided with flanged edges, which consists of a box body having a flat top surface adapted to fit against a support, lateral flanges at either side of said top surface by means of which the strip may be secured to the support, and lateral flanges at the bottom of said box body upon which the edges of the ceiling plates rest, said last named flanges being adapted to be clenched up against the flanged edges of said ceiling p ates.

3. A furring strip for the sup ort of ceiling plates comprising a strip 0 metal bent up to form a box body having a flat top surface adapted to fit against a support, lateral flanges at either side of said surface by means of which the strip may be secured to the support, and lateral flanges at the bottom of said box body upon which the edges of the ceiling plates rest.

4. A furring strip, for the support of ceiling plates provided with flanged edges, com-' prising a strip of metal bent up to form a box body having a flat top surface adapted to fit against a support, lateral flanges at either side of said top surface by .means of which the strip may be secured to the support, and lateral flanges at the bottom of said box body upon which the edges of the ceiling plates rest, said last named flanges being adapted to be clenched up against the flanged edges of said ceiling plates.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Pa., this 27th day of June, 1919.

LOUIS J. GRAFF. 

